A Democratic Party in Japan

“An overwhelming vote for the opposition.  Bringing an end over a half a century of one party rule.  Across the country, seats formerly held by the ruling liberal democratic party fell.  The victory absolute and overwhelming.  From the DPJ’s leader Yukio Hatoyama the man likely to be the future prime minister of Japan, only humble words.   

“We don’t think this is just a victory for the democratic party of Japan, but a victory for the people.  We feel people are very angry about the current national situation.” (Al Jazeera English)

We are analyzing reaction to the outcome of the elections in Japan.  We have coverage from CNBC, Al Jazeera English, Japan Today, ITN, and Reuters.

First an analyst with CNBC explains how the DPJ was able to pull off a landslide victory.  
 
“The public turnout was exceptionally large, about 70%, despite an incoming typhoon that left many cities in the rain.  The opposition party was able to engage the younger generation, people in their 20’s and 30’s, to a level that the liberal democratic party has never been able to do.   They promised to put more cash into households, especially families with young children. 

Japan Today looks at the massive change from another angle- The number of newbies elected.

“Japan’s general election Sunday created 158 rookie lawmakers in the 480-seat House of Representatives, of whom 143, or 90.5%, belong to the triumphant Democratic Party of Japan”

And according to ITN many challenges lie ahead for the inexperienced Democratic Party.

“It’s faced with a grueling and daunting task from pulling its economy out of its worst slump since WWI.  Japan has been hit hard by the global recession and falling demand for its exports and its unemployment rates spiked to a record 5.7 percent.  The country also faces threats as its population ages, which means more people are on pensions and there is a shrinking pool of taxpayers to support them.”

And Reuters reports the elections are already producing short term gains.   Japanese currency, the yen, is suddenly on the rise.

“The yen rose to a 7-week high against the dollar and gained versus other currencies on Monday buoyed by a decisive opposition victory in Japanese elections.”
 
So do you think the Democratic Party will bolster Japanese economy? Or do you think their inexperience will hurt them?